University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Historical Materials from University of Nebraska- Extension Lincoln Extension 9-1938 EC9919 Candies Old and New Mabel Doremus Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist Doremus, Mabel, "EC9919 Candies Old and New" (1938). Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. 3016. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist/3016 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Extension at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. _£_. c.'#- c; r19 CIRCULAR 9919 • SEPTEMBER, 1938 OLD AND NEW bJ :I 0 0 UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE EXTENSION SERVICE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COOPERATING CONTENTS PAGE Use of Sweets in the Diet . 3 Candy Ingredients . 3 Classifications of Candy . 4 Principles of Candy Making . 4 Temperatures . .. .. .. ...... 5 Utensils and Equipment . ...... 6 Order of Work . 6 Packing and Wrapping Candy for Gifts . 6 Recipes 8 Aloha Panocha, Chocolate Fudge, Dark Chocolate Fudge . .. ... 8 Honey Fudge, Dutch Walnuts, Fondant .. 9 Divinity, Peanut Butter Roll, Applets, After-Dinner Jelly Mints, Creole Pralines, Sparklets or Lollipops . .... .... 10 Molasses or Sorghum Taffy, Pulled Orange Taffy, Grape-Nuts Molasses Brittle, Honey Nut Brittle . 11 Caramelcorn Nuggets, Peanut Brittle . 12 - Ac knowledgment is made to Mi ss Matilda Peters, Associate Professo r, Foods and N utrition Divison of the Home Economics Department of the Uni versity of Nebraska, fo r her assistance in the preparation of this circular. Candies New and Old MABEL DOREMUS T has been said that the perfect gift is something that you have made I yourself. Homemade candy is an appropriate and most acceptable Christmas gift and one that enables the giver to share the spirit of giving even though her money is limited. A good candy maker is not necessarily a person with years of experience. If you have never made candy before, you need not hesitate to begin now. Of course, every homemaker wishes to avoid candy failure with its dis­ appointment and waste of ingredients, time, and effort. There are a few simple rules underlying candy making that once leam.ed and followed will do much toward perfecting the product. Use of Sweets in the Diet Candy has been known and used since about the year 2,000 B. C. In the Bible candy is referred to as "Wafers made with honey." Candy is such a favorite with ole and young that we know the craving for sweets is a normal one. In deciding whether or not sweets should be eaten we might first decide whether sugar, the basis of candy, is harmful. Sugar is an energy-giving food and all normally active people require a large amount of energy. There is no doubt that too much sugar irritates the lining of the stomach, upsets digestion, and destroys the appetite for more needed foods. Common sense tells us, then, to continue to eat candy but to follow such positive rules as these: The time to eat candy is after a meal rather than before meals. When selecting candy for children, take care to choose the m0re simple sweets. Fruit candies, hard candies, and simple kinds without large amounts of rich ingredients are best. Eat candy in comparatively small amounts. Molasses and brown sugar contain more minerals than white sugar. Candy Ingredients Sugar is the principal ingredient in most candies. Either cane or beet sugar may be used. Fairly fine-grained sugar, free from foreign materials, is best. Brow~ sugar, powdered sugar, confectioner's sugar, and maple sugar may also be used in candy. Honey may be used in some candies but special recipes for its use need to be followed. Molasses and light and dark syrup improve the texture of many candies. Butter improves the flavor and texture. Certain candies contain egg whites or gelatin, which give their char­ acteristic texture. Flavoring materials vary with the kind of candy. Nuts, chocolate, and fruits are added to some candies. 4 NEBRASKA ExTENSION CIRCULAR 9919 Classification of Candy After one has been sure to select the best ingredients, the next step is to follow the directions in the recipe faithfuly. There are three possible classifications of candy, namely: Cream candy or crystalline, in which the crystals are very small. Ex­ amples: fudge, panocha, and fondant. Non-crystalline: brittles; hard candies, rock candy; chewy candies, caramels. Miscellaneous candies, which contain some ingredient to give a special texture. Examples: gelatin candies, divinity, and gum drops. The ingredients in creamy candies vary. Fondant contains sugar an<il water while fudge and panocha contain sugar, milk, and butter. In fudge large amounts of cocoa or chocolate are used. Panocha (sometimes incor­ rectly spelle6 penuche) is made with brown sugar. Principles of Candy Making In good crystalline candy the crystallization of the sugar is so regulated that the candy is not sugary but creamy, fine grained, and smooth. To obtain this result in fudge, panocha, and fondant, we must learn how to obtain very small crystals. Some methods of doing this are: Use of acids such as cream of tartar, lemon juice, and vinegar to change part of the sucrose to invert sugar, which does not crystallize easily. This invert sugar is present in syrup, molasses, honey, and brown sugar; therefore any of these may be used in place of the acid. The sugar in the candy must all be dissolved before candy starts to boil. Wipe down the sides of the pan in which the candy is boiling with a damp cloth wrapped around the tines of a fork. This removes crystals which might fall into the candy and cause crystallization. Do not stir or beat candy while boiling or before it is cool, because this causes it to re-crystallize into large, coarse crystals. Large crystals attract others, and if the candy is cooled it will become seeded with the more desirable small crystals. Hard candy is not difficult to make but the handling of it when done requires speed and skill. It must be very hot and shaped at a high tempera­ ture. The ingredients in hard candy are generally sugar, water, ami some ingredient to prevent crystallization such as vinegar or syrup. Colorings, flavorings, and decorations may be added as desired. Rules for making hard candies: Dissolve s111gar before the boiling point is reached and do not stir while boiling. Wipe the crystals from the sides of the pan. Cook less rapidly toward the end of the boiling time to prevent darkening of the syrup. Gelatin candies, such as gum drops, marshmallows, and many paste candies, are not as sweet as other candies. They are generally made by soaking granulated gelatin in a prescribed amount of cold water and then boiling it with other ingredients for a comparatively short time. A gelatin CANDIES OLD ANI!l NEw 5 candy is usually cooked without stirring and then poured into a wet mold or flat pan. T emperatures In order to be sure of uniform results it is best to use an accurate candy thermometer. It is a great convenience and is often the secret of candy suc­ cess. Many people obtain· good results with­ out the thermometer, because they have developed skill in telling when the candy is done by other methods. If a thermometer is used it should be placed in the syrup before the boiling point is reached in order to heat it gradually. When reading the thermometer, the eye should be on a level with the mer­ cury in the tube. More accurate results will be obtained if the thermometer does not touch the bottom of the saucepan. Wh.en the thermometer is removed from the boiling syrup it should be placed at once in very hot water and cooled slowly. Candy that is undercooked will not harden and that which is overcooked will be grainy and hard . In damp weather it is often necessary to cook candy to a higher temperature to make sure it will harden. Cold-water Tests and C01-responding Temperatures T emperature Stage of Cooking, Type of Candy Degrees F. Cold-Water Test Description Syrup 228-234 Thread Spins a thread when dropped from spoon. Thread fin er and longer as tempera­ ture increases. Fudge, panocha, 234-240 Soft ball Soft ball in cold boiled fros ting, water. Flattens fo ndant on removal. Caramels 244 -248 Firm ball Firm ball in cold wa ter ; holds its shape on removal. Divinity, nougat, 250-265 Hard ball Hard ball in cold popcorn balls, water. Plastic and salt-water taffy chewy on removal. Butterscotch, 270-290 Crack Separates into heavy taffies, or pulled threads in cold candies water; plastic and bends on removal. Brittle, glace, 295-31 0 H ard crack Threads hard and barley sugar brittle on removal from water. Caramel or burnt 315-338 Clear to brown Becomes darker with sugar liquid higher temperatures. Very hard on cooling. NEBRASKA ExTENSION CIRCULAR 9919 In the absence of a thermometer a simple household test to tell when candy is done is to drop a small portion of the boiling syrup in a cup of cold water. When the hot syrup is cooled by the water it thickens and can be formed into balls of varying degrees of hardness. By feeling the drop in the cup, one can decide whether it has reached the soft ball, hard ball, or any other stage that the recipe calls for. Utensils and Equipment If one were making a business of candy making it would be advisable to obtain rather complete equipment.